The Oklahoma City Thunder's streak of significant injuries has continued.
After dealing with injuries to Chet Holmgren, Nikola Topic, Thomas Sorber and Jalen Williams over the past few seasons, Williams and Cason Wallace both went down in OKC's third contest of the 2026-27 season.
Both players could miss the remainder of the campaign, leaving Oklahoma City without two of its starters after a 3-0 start to the year.
The Thunder have a deep roster, and should still be a competitive team, but the team's season outlook is altered after losing a pair of All-Defense honorees. Williams' abscence leaves the team without much depth on the wing, which could lead to increased minutes from the team's two-way players, who are all wing players.
Jared McCain, Ajay Mitchell and Kenrich Williams are likely the first players in line to fill in for Jalen Williams and Wallace, but Brooks Barnhizer, Josh Dix and newly signed Micah Peavy could also enter Mark Daigneault's rotation.
Barnhizer was selected by OKC with the No. 44 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft after a four-year career at Northwestern. As a senior, the 6-foot-5 wing averaged 17.1 points, 8.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting 41.4% from the field and 26.6% from 3-point range.
As a rookie, Barnhizer averaged 1.7 points and two rebounds while shooting 38% from the field in 8.7 minutes per game across 40 NBA appearances.
Barnhizer also played 11 regular season games with the Oklahoma City Blue, averaging 18.1 points, 9.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.5 steals while shooting 58.5% from the field and 61.9% from beyond the arc on 1.9 attempts per game in the G League.
The 24-year-old has appeared in two games for the Thunder so far this season, averaging just 1.5 minutes per contest.
Barnhizer's rebounding ability would be valuable for OKC, but the second-year wing's struggles on offense will likely prevent him from being a significant contributor this season.
Dix was signed by the Thunder as an undrafted free agent in the 2026 draft class. The former Creighton and Iowa standout shot above 40% from beyond the arc during three of his four seasons at the NCAA level and turned in impressive Summer League and preseason showings.
Listed at 6-foot-6, the 22-year-old's size and perimeter shooting ability could help him earn time on the floor for Oklahoma City.
Peavy was signed after OKC waived Otega Oweh following the No. 41 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft suffering his own season-ending injury during the preseason.
The 6-foot-7 wing was picked No. 40 overall in the 2025 class and appeared in 61 games for New Orleans as a rookie, averaging 4.3 points, 1.9 rebounds and an assist per game while shooting 38.5% from the field and 25.9% from deep.
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